Slug-trimming knife for line-casting machines



'S. E. SPERRY.

SLUG TRINMING KNIFE FOR LINE CASTING MACHINES.

APPLICATIOH FILED JULY 30,192].

Patentefl Aug. 15', 1922.

" useful Improvements in Slug-Trimmingumrso stares PATENT OFFICE," 0' I SAMUEL E. SPERRY, or woonrmvnnnriw YORK, Assrenoa To m'rERmYrEcoard RATION, or BROOKLYN, W YORK, A CORPORATION or new Y 0RK,

sL'ne-TnIMMiNe KNIFE ron iiINE-cnsrnve maoninns;

i 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL-E. SrERnY, a citizen-of the United States, resldmg at WVoodhaven, in the county' of Queens and State of New York, have invented new and Knives. for Line-Casting Machines, of "which the following is a specification. 1

The present inventionlrelates to improvements in line casting machines, and more especially to those of the linotype class, wherein type slugs are castfrom lines of matrices and these slugs areejected from the.

mold and forced through an appropriately measured space between a pair of knives which trim the flat sides of the slugsto the proper thickness to conform with the size of the type in process ofproduction'.

Slug-trimming knives, as heretofore used generally, embodied two'knife blades, one blade being usually'fixed in relation to one side of the mold, and the other knifeblade being adjustable relatively to "the first-mentioned knife blade, to provide a spacebetween the blades which will conform with the body size of the type to be produced, and means o fvarious kinds have been employed for adjusting the movable knife blade to conform with type of different body sizes. The patent granted to T. S.

Homans No.,'1,*202,720 dated October 2 in using slug trimming knives of the type generally employed, the pressure or thrust imposed on the relatively movable' knife blade incident to the forcing of the slug from the mold and through the space be-: tween the knife blades acts to tilt or'deflect the relatively movable knife blade, in consequence of which the leading edge of this blade is caused to gouge into the adjacent flat side of the slug; undergoing trimming.

and this results in an imperfecttrim. Such bending or deflection of the relatively mov- 1 able knife blade has proven unavoidable in trimming knives as heretofore used, owing to the necessity vof providing anadjustment for the movable knife blade which will provide for the trimming of type slugs varying from 6 point to 4:2 pointsin body sizes,

the'relatively movable or adjustable knife .blade, in trimmingfknives as heretofore, con-- structed, being fixed" to a supporting plate,

1921. "seiiai' no; 488,592; x

which plate in mm wa =gui'ded"to slide on block being necessarily cut away *to permit s e i oi ie i dement d au gra'l reez. I

Application filed July so, I

the passagejof slugs of the large'st body sizes to the collecting galley, in consequence o'f ivhich the' relatively movable or adjust: able knife bladenecessarily-"o'verhung the cut-away portion ofthe knife block and was vsubject to bending orthrust of thefsIug-J- j, The present invention deflection under the --provides a novel and improved mounting for the, ifelatively' moi' able or adjustable kn'i' fe blade, whereby the dlfficulty above "referred to is avoided and a perfect trimming operation. may be accomplished, these results being attaijnedby so 'mountingthe relatively movabl'efor adustable knife blade that tipping, bendingor other-dislocation thereof under the [thrust 'ofthe slug is effectively prevented. y

To" these and other ends, theinventienj consists in certain improvements and com binations and'arrangem-ents of1parts, 'all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the; features otfn'ovelty being pointedout par tic'ularly in the 'claimsi at end ofth'e specification. u j

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 represents asection taken transversely through a: slug't'rim'ming device (201 sti ucted in: accordance" with the preferred embodiment of thelinve'ntion; and

v V i i c I 1gure2 1s a perspect ve view-of thesame rious types 'heretOforlrnOwn or used, in-

with the relatively fixed'knife blade omitted. V j v -The presentinvention. is applicable generally to slugtrmnning knives of the va ployed for adjusting the knife: to conform,

derstood,.h0wever, that the invention is not? restricted to .the, part cular constru'ction shown, as equivalent constructions are contemplated and these will'be i ncluded within the scope of the claims.

In the presentinstance, Y portion of. the vice frame-of a machine offl.

the linoty-pe class, the same having one Ofz; v

and 3 designates the knifebleckjwhichjisthe slug; trimming knirvesi 2 fixed thereon,

fixed to the vice frame. The adjustable or l in dependently o'f'the particular .mean's em- 9 T movable slug trimming knife 4 is. controlled with respect to itsdistance from the cooperative knife 2, by a relatively large screw 5 which is threaded exteriorly and fits within a similarly threaded ringor nut 6, an adjusting handle 7 being connected to the screw 5 by the locking screw 8 and having circumferentially spaced notches 9 in its periphery to cooperate with a locking dog 10', by which the degree of rotation of the screw 5 may be determined.

The leading edges 2 and 4 of the knives first .engage the slug as the latter is ejected edgewise from the mold and pushed through the space between the knives by the slug ejector, the trimmed slug passing on to the collecting galley. In order to enable the slugs of larger thicknesses to pass from the trimming knives to the galley, it is necessary to form the knife block with a recess 11 which underlies the movable or adjustable knife 4. A guiding blade 12 may be attached to the movable knife 4 to act as a guide for the slug in passing from the trimming knives to the galley.

According to the present invention, the knife block 3 is formed beyond the opposite ends of the recess 11 with supports 13 and 14 which are preferably in substantially the form of rails extending longitudinally of the direction of adjustment of the knife 4, as shown, and the endsof the adjustable knife 4 are extended to bear. on these supports or rails. It will be understood that the recess 11 is of a length suflicient to accommodate slugs of the greatest length and that these knife supports or rails 13 and 14 are spaced apart for a distance greater than the length of the longest slugs. Preferably, the adjustable knife 4 is formed with extensions 15 and 16 of reduced height and these extensions which project beyond the ends of the recess or cut-away portion 11 overlie and bear upon the supports 13 and 14 on the knife block. The adjustable knife 4 is operatively related to the adjusting screw 5 preferably through the medium of a pair of longitudinally spaced screws 17 which bear against a thrustring 18, the latter in turn bearing against the end of the adjusting screw 5 adjacent to the knife 4. The adjustable knife 4 is held in properly seated relation with the supporting and guiding rails 13 and 14 and also in proper relation with the adjusting screw 5 by a tension spring lf), one end of which is attached to ahook or projection 20' fixed to the knife 4 preferably at or substantially midway of its length, but below the level of the supports or rails 14, and the opposite end of this spring is attached to an arm or bracket 21 which is fixed, as by the screws 22, to the knife block and projects through a central opening in the adjusting screw 5 to the thrust ring The spring 19 acts diagonally or in an inclined direction relatively to the knifeengaging surfaces of the supports or rails 13 and 14, and hence it will cause the adjustable knife 4 to bear constantly and evenly on these supports or rails, irrespective of the various adjustments that may be made to Vary the distance of the knife 4 from the knife 2, and the spring will also act to maintain the screws or studs 17 on the knife 4 in engagement with the thrust ring 18 and to maintain this thrust ring in engagement with the adjacent end of the adjusting screw 5. The strength of thespring may vary to some extent, due to variations in the distance of the knife 4 from the knife 2, but the spring will always function to maintain the knife 4 in properly seated relation with the supports or rails on the knife block and to maintain correct operative relation between the knife 4 and the adjusting screw 5. By this arrangement, the leading edges 2 and 4 of the knives will be capable of sustaining the thrust imposed upon them by the slug, as the latter is ejected from the mold and forced through the space between the knives, without causing tipping, bending or other deflection or dislocation of the knife 4 relatively to the knife block, and this result is not impaired by the different adjustments of the knife 4 to accommodate slugs of different body sizes.

Usually the depth of the knives increases toward one end thereof to produce a progressive engagement of the leading edges of the knives with the slug. Figure 2 shows the knife 4 as increasing in depth toward its lower end. The resulting end thrust produced on the knife 4 by reason of its tapered form and also the weight of this knife, as

well as the lateral thrust imposed thereon. are sustained by the lower support or rail 14 which, as shown, is preferably shaped to fit against the two adjacent sides of the notch or recess in this end of the knife and this support or rail thus functions to prevent displacement of the adjustable knife in two directions. It will be understood that in the construction hereinbefore described, no means other than the spring 19 is required to maintain the adjustable knife 4 in properly seated relation with its supports or rails and in proper operative relation with the adjustable screw, and that this spring will not only function to produce these results, but it will also eliminate any lost motion or play between the parts of the trimming device, and hence accuracy in the setting of the knives and correct performance of the trimming operation are attained. I claim as my invention 1. A slug-trimming means for line casting machines comprising a support, cooperative 5 knives one of which is adjustable relatively to said support in a direction toward and from the other knife, the support having rests on which the adjustable knife bears at its respective ends and which rests extend in ad- Vance of the edge of the adjustable knife, and means for holding the adjustable knife in engagement with said rests.

2. Slug-trimming means for line casting machines comprising a support, cooperative knives one of which is adjustable relatively to said support in a direction toward and from the other knife, said support having spaced rails on which the adjustable knife directly behind the trimming edge thereof bears throughout the range of adjustment of said adjustable knife, and a spring acting on the adjustable knife in a direction oblique to the knife-engaging portions of said rails and operative to maintain the adjustable knife in correct bearing engagement with said rails throughout the range of adjustment of said knife.

4. Slug-trimming mechanism comprising cooperative knives one of which is adjustable relatively to the other, and supports extending in advance of the edge of the ad.- justable knife and on which the opposite ends of th adjustable knife bear, said supports being spaced apart at a distance greater than the length of the longest slug to be trimmed and defining the length of the slug trimming passage between the knives and being located in a plane offset relatively to the trimming edges of the knives.

5. Slug-trimming mechanism comprising an adjusable trimming knife, abutments to sustain thrust of said knife in two directions,

the knife against said abutments. v

6. Slug-trimming means comprising a support having a recess for the passage of a trimmed slug therethrough and provided with bearing surfaces beyond and defining the ends of the recess, a knife'overlying said recess and having its ends extended and slidably bearing on said bearing surfaces on the support, said bearing surfaces extending in advance of the edge of said knife and means acting to maintain said ends of the knife in engagement with the hearings on the sup-' port. a

7. Slug-trimming meanscomprising a support having a passagewayvfor a trimmed slug and provided with hearing rails located beyond the respective ends of said passageway,

a knife to extend longitudinally across said passageway and having its ends extended I to overlie and bear on said rails, and a spring acting in a direction oblique to the knifebearing surfaces of said rails and operative to hold the ends of the knife against the rails.

8. In slug-trimming means, a support hav-- ing a recess to receive trimmed slugs and provided with bearing surfaces beyondthe respective ends of the recess, a trimming knife to extend across said recess and having its ends extended beyond the ends of the recess and notched to receive and bear against said surfaces on the support, and means act-',

ing to press and hold the knife against said bearing surfaces. I a

9. In slug-trimming means, the comblnation ofa support having relatively spaced bearing surfaces thereon, a knife having its ends adapted'to bear on said surfaces, means for adjusting the position of'the knife on said bearing surfaces, and a spring acting in an inclined directionrelatively to said hearing surfaces and operative to hold the ends of the knife against the respective bearing surfaces and to hold the knife against said adjusting means.

In testimony whereof'I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

SAMUEL E. SPERRY.

Witnesses WALTER MAROELL,

DAVID'M. BAIRD. a 

